Think of Me as Only Me
by RaliNeoBlade
Summary: The first chapter is the girl. The second is the guy. ?/? I don't tell you who they are. Guess! Reviews are appreciated.
1. It Makes Me Want To Cry

Think of Me as Only Me  
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Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT.  
  
A young girl sat, head on knees, in the shade of a weeping willow. A tiny smirk crossed her face. Weeping willow...how appropriate.  
  
She stared into the lake at her feet, scrutinizing her reflection.  
  
She wasn't terribly young, around seventeen. Old enough not to be mistaken for a child. It was vexing. If she was old enough to be clearly a teenager, an adolescent, nearly grown, why did everyone treat her like something delicate? Something to be directed, protected, and guided in every aspect of her life?  
  
She was a fighter, damn it! She knew how to take care of herself! But no, it was always, "I don't think you're old enough..." "I'll come with you so you're not alone..." "You can make your own decisions when you're grown up."  
  
And the worst part...him. He saw her as a little kid, a sister. That was all she'd ever been to him. That was all she'd ever be. It made her want to cry. It made her want to scream. It made her want to sob against his shoulder and then shake him and shout, "I'm not helpless! I'm not a child! I'm not a little girl, a little sister! I'm a woman, Kami help me, why can't you think of me as one?" Why couldn't he think of her as an adult...?  
  
She'd talked to her friends, and they were right. She was too young for him. They'd known each other for too long for him to think about her as a young woman...She was just herself.   
  
A ripple from a thrown rock shattered her image in the water, and she looked up, startled, to see him there. He looked gorgeous, as usual, the wind ruffling his clothes, and sifting through his hair. The setting sun was behind him, and with the added light effects he was so stunning that her heart ached.  
  
Then, in a flash, she realized that she'd been crying. And that she had tearstains on her face. And that he'd probably seen. Too late, she whipped her arm across her eyes in hopes that the dusk shadows had concealed it.  
  
He said her name. Asked her what she was doing out at this hour. She didn't reply. He walked over, then crouched next to her and encircled her in his arms, like he had in so many of the times when she'd been feeling low.  
  
An older brother comforting a younger sister. That's what kind of relationship this was. That's what it always had been. He'd never see it as anything different. A bitter smile twisted her lips. But he was near her, so she wasn't complaining. She leaned her head on his shoulder and shook with silent weeping.   
  
"Shhhh, it's okay. Calm down. Everything's fine," he murmured to her, his voice low. He patted her shoulder, and released her when the sobbing had stopped. She wiped her face again.  
  
"Sorry," she muttered, sounding somewhat strangled. "It's really nothing." He smiled at her and shook his head.  
  
"You never cry for nothing. Tell me what's wrong."  
  
She closed her eyes and leaned back in the grass, hands behind her head, but her mouth stayed shut. He frowned, then grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes.  
  
"Tell me or I'll tickle you," he threatened, raising his hands menacingly. Her eyes popped open and she stared at him, unable to suppress a giggle.  
  
"No way!" she retorted, jumped up, and ran away from him. He smiled and shot after her.   
  
She glanced back, and saw that he was gaining. Go figure. He was a lot stronger and faster than she was. Then she thought about his tickle threat, and gave a mental sigh. Just like a teasing friend.  
  
He caught her, as she'd known he'd eventually would, and made good on his threat. She laughed until she was breathless and couldn't laugh anymore. She was rolling on the grass, clutching her sides, and he was laughing too, just from the fun.  
  
"Really, though, what's the matter?"  
  
She sat up, gaiety suddenly draining from her face. "I've gotta get home now. My parents are probably worried about me." He stood up too, alarmed.  
  
"Let me drive you home, it's safer-" but she turned on him, face suddenly angry.  
  
"No thank you," she spat. "I can fly just fine. I don't need a bodyguard." And she took off toward home.  
  
She didn't look back, didn't have to look back. She could sense the hurt in his power signature, but she didn't care. That hurt was nothing compared how he'd hurt her over all these years. A few dozen more events like this, show her independence, maybe it would be enough payback. Probably not.   
  
Eventually she slowed down, wearing out the steam of her anger. And she turned in the air back toward the park, where she could sense that he still was, unmoving from the spot where she'd flown away from him.   
  
He'd never know. She couldn't let him. She wouldn't let him. It'd only end in heartbreak.  
  
  
Rali: So whatcha think? I know it's not much, but I'm not done yet. Maybe, if I get 5 good reviews, I'll do the next chapter, and maybe you'll get clues to who it is. Maybe I'll even flat out tell you. Tell me what you think of this, and tell me what you think I should do for 


	2. Why Is She Crying?

Think of Me as Only Me- Part Two  
  
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Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT.  
  
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A young man stood at the edge of a lake behind a weeping willow, silently watching one of his best friends, twenty feet away, as she trembled with body-wracking sobs. He frowned, puzzled, for two reasons. Why was she crying? Why was he hiding from her?  
  
He knew he ought to be comforting her. Playing the sympathetic ear to her sorrows. It was probably about a boy. His fist unconsciously clenched. He didn't think that he could do it anymore. Listening to her cry over someone, when the whole time she could have been happy with him. But no, she didn't think of him that way, of course not. It made him want to yell. It made him want to tear his hair out. It made him want to hold her close and whisper sweet nothings in her ear forever. And she probably thought he was an old geezer. He almost smiled, but found he couldn't.  
  
He looked into the lake, trying to shut out the sound of the tears that she was trying to quiet. And faced his reflection. He was in what could be called the prime of his life. He was handsome, funny, he'd been told by many women. But not by her. Never by her, in all the years he'd known her. A comfort object, that's what he was. Something to hold and cry on when she was sad.  
  
On the days when it was pretty bad, the days when she said to him, "You're such a great friend!" flashing that brilliant smile of hers, he could pound on his best friend, beat him up in a sparring match and get equally beat up in return, and feel relieved of some of the stress in his life. He'd be so exhausted he couldn't think, and that would be a relief, because whenever he thought, his thinking eventually, and inevitably, turned to her.  
  
But on the days when it was worst, the days when he had to see her flirting with guys, or sharing a tender moment with her boyfriend, all his feelings just smoldered inside of him, because no battle, even with his father, could rid him of the jealousy and pain.  
  
He couldn't stay with any one woman, because of her. And because of that, he was still treated like a teenager by many of the people he knew. "You should settle down…" "Don't you think you should be serious about working…" and "Graaaandchiiiildren!!" from his mother, and his dad just wanted him to be a great fighter.  
  
That did it. He was thinking too much again. He needed to do something to get his mind off self pity. He glanced up at her again. Her crying had diminished, but she was still shaking. Okay, forget about not letting her cry on his shoulder. He had to do it. Bending down to pick up a rock, he stepped out from behind the tree, then threw it lightly into the lake, right in front of her.  
  
Her head jerked up, and she stared at him for a long moment, and he thought, for an instant, that he thought he saw something in her eyes. He grabbed that annoying little worm called hope and shoved it into the back of his mind. But he couldn't suppress it completely.  
  
She looked gorgeous, as usual, the wind ruffling her clothes, and gently sifting through her hair. Shadows played across her face, half hiding her from view now and then, and with the added light effects she was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her.  
  
He gazed at her, heart aching, at the tears still wet on her face. Almost as if she was reading his thoughts, she swiped her hand across her face, probably hoping that he wouldn't notice.  
  
He said her name lovingly, caressingly, and wondered aloud what she was doing away from home this late. She didn't answer, just stared at her knees. His concern grew. It wasn't like her. She usually just told him flippantly that nothing was wrong, but he always knew.  
  
Sighing inwardly, he walked toward her slowly, then sat down and held her close. He buried his face in her hair, hoping she wouldn't mind, and breathed her unique scent in deep, wanting to imprint it in his memory forever. It felt so right, having her in his arms. So natural. As if that was the way it was meant to be.  
  
She pressed her face against his shoulder and let loose the tears she'd been trying holding back.  
  
He needed to say something. If he didn't, he'd just get lost in her lovely scent, and not be able to think at all, wanting to pretend, for just a while, that they were together and would be forever.  
  
"Shhhh, it's okay. Calm down. Everything's fine," he whispered, his voice low from the effort it took to restrain himself from nuzzling her ear. He patted her shoulder, and forced himself to let go of her when she'd stopped crying. She'd probably get suspicious if he kept holding her.  
  
"Sorry," she murmured, after wiping her face again. He drank in the sound of her voice. "It's really nothing." He smiled with an effort, and shook his head. She was always denying that something was wrong.  
  
"You never cry for nothing," he reminded her softly. She never had. "Tell me what's wrong."  
  
But instead, she laid back down on the grass, closing her eyes and putting her hands behind her head. He frowned. Did she live only to frustrate him? Then he grinned, thinking of something to lighten the mood a bit.  
  
"Tell me or I'll tickle you." He raised his hands to show that he meant to carry out his threat. He very nearly laughed when her eyes bugged out, and smiled fondly when he finally heard her sweet bell of a giggle.  
  
"No way!" She jumped up and started running away from him, laughing. He smiled, relieved, and took off to make good on his word. She glanced back once, and tried to speed up, but he caught her. There was no way that she could have outrun him.  
  
When he finally caught her, he tickled her for all he was worth, and she shrieked with laughter. It was heaven. It was bliss. He stopped, laughing and grinning, when she was utterly out of breath and rolling on the grass, holding her sides. But he felt he had to make one last attempt to find out what was wrong. His mom always told him that it made people feel better to talk about things, though it never worked for him.  
  
"Really, though, what's the matter?"  
  
She stopped laughing immediately, and in that instant, he knew that he'd made a mistake. Her face was cold, and it hurt him.  
  
"I've gotta go home now," she said harshly. "My parents are probably worried about me." He stood up with her, feeling alarmed at her complete refusal to confide in him. This had never happened before. Maybe he could go with her, try to get it out in the open…  
  
"Let me drive you home, it's safer-", he started, but she rounded on him, suddenly angry. His eyes widened at her sudden mood changes. Maybe it was that time of month-  
  
"No THANK YOU," she hissed, nearly spitting. "I can fly just fine. I don't need a bodyguard." And she was in the air, almost out of sight.  
  
He didn't move. He couldn't. He was too shocked. And massively hurt. What in the world had he done to get that? He sat down abruptly, and stared at the spot in the sky where she'd disappeared. He was too upset to track her power signature. He was too confused to think about going after her.  
  
He sat that way for quite a long time. When he finally regained coherent thought, he noticed that the sun had finally renounced its claim to the sky, and the moon was sitting high on his throne, surrounded by his subjects, the stars. He smiled. She would have thought that that was funny. Maybe he would tell her someday. The day he told her that he loved her. That would probably be never, considering what had just happened…but that niggling little worm called hope wasn't defeated very easily.  
  
He would tell her…someday. She was the sun to him, and he only the moon that emerged when most were sleeping, forever chasing after his impossible love. He could tell her…someday.  
  
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Rali: Sorry that it took so long to get this posted. I had major writer's block on this story. Anyway, what do you think? Should I keep working on this story? Should I ever tell you who these two are? And, all you people who are so sure you know who they are, DON'T BE SO CONFIDENT!! Because I am evil, and I could change who they are just to spite you, or they might not even be who you thought they were in the first place!!! If you want to chew me out for being evil in more detail than in a review, my email's paulbeckyrye@earthlink.net. Please R/R!!!!!!! Oh, and that person who didn't sign their review and flamed me? Next time, really ignore my story. As in, don't read it at all, and don't bother to review, because it will be totally ignored. 


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